Raft Pharmaceuticals is an early-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapy targeting lipid rafts in inflamed and activated cells. Chronic pain is a major health problem - a critical factor in maintaining quality of life - with an estimated incurred cost measured in billions. Opiates, NSAIDs, and anticonvulsants provide short period relief but are less effective for chronic therapy. More criticallly, they can have serious side effects and the potential for diversion and addiction (opioid epidemics). In contrast, animal testing shows the unprecedented efficacy of Raft's product - recombinant protein RFT-001 regulating cholesterol trafficking in the plasma membrane and normalizing clustered and cholesterol-overloaded lipid raft microdomains specifically in inflamed glia and macrophages, relevant to the development of chronic pain states.
